The Medusa Touch

Synopsis

John Morlar is watching the British television broadcast when an anchorman states that American astronauts are trapped in orbit around the moon. Suddenly someone in Morlar's room picks up a figurine and strikes him on the head repeatedly. His blood splatters the television screen. A French police inspector, Brunel, arrives at Morlar's apartment to begin an investigation. At first he thinks Morlar is dead, but soon he hears him breathe. At the hospital, Morlar is hooked up to life support systems, one machine in particular monitors the activity of his battered brain. Brunel discovers that Morlar has been in psychological analysis because of his history of being witness to many disasters, other people's disasters. Dr. Zonfeld, Morlar's analyst, explains that Morlar's delusions had begun when he was a child. He believed that he had caused a hated nanny's death. Morlar's childhood delusions were reinforced at a resort when he overheard his parents discussing him with disapproval. When his...

John Morlar is watching the British television broadcast when an anchorman states that American astronauts are trapped in orbit around the moon. Suddenly someone in Morlar's room picks up a figurine and strikes him on the head repeatedly. His blood splatters the television screen. A French police inspector, Brunel, arrives at Morlar's apartment to begin an investigation. At first he thinks Morlar is dead, but soon he hears him breathe. At the hospital, Morlar is hooked up to life support systems, one machine in particular monitors the activity of his battered brain. Brunel discovers that Morlar has been in psychological analysis because of his history of being witness to many disasters, other people's disasters. Dr. Zonfeld, Morlar's analyst, explains that Morlar's delusions had begun when he was a child. He believed that he had caused a hated nanny's death. Morlar's childhood delusions were reinforced at a resort when he overheard his parents discussing him with disapproval. When his...

Director

Cast

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ginish666 8 / 10

well directed, well cast, excellent adaptation of book

The manner in which the film was chronographed was somewhat unique. In
real time the main character, Morlar, is comatized by severe head
trauma. In fact the movie opens with his attempted murder. The
unfolding of events in the ensuing investigation are presented with
smooth transitions from flashback to present in order to create a sense
of fatalistic inevitability. The director takes a very difficult path
to achieve this but I think he pulled it off very effectively. Look for
little tricks to smooth out the staccato chronological transitions.
Small similarities between outgoing and incoming scenes create a more
seamless effect.Also, the sounds of a former scene would linger for a
couple of seconds after the transition, further uniting past & present
to emphasize the inevitable hopelessness of the inspectors situation.
It also serves to demonstrate Morlar's indomitable, fatalistic will.

All the characters are well (and cleverly)cast, particularly Richard
Burton as Morlar. VonGreenway's book comments on the intensity of
Morlar's character and his riveting gaze. Burton was obviously
intimately familiar with the text as his rendition of Morlar is, to say
the least, riveting.

The apocryphal elements added by the director, the cataclysmic
disasters vastly improve the story's big-screen appeal, even if they
were a bit of a departure from the text. The director simplifies the
text by only indirectly referring to Morlar's political agenda. To
follow the text in this would be setting up an entirely different story
and would distract from the immediacy of the peril Morlar represents
for the inspector and the psychiatrist.

The "tongue in cheek" manner in which these two meet serves to show a
comprehensive understanding of the text, it gives clear notice (to
those familiar with the book) the text cannot realistically be followed
in every way. "I'm sorry I was expecting a man." the inspector explains
his reaction to her. "That's alright, I was expecting an English
Inspector." She responds. This, of course, was a reference to the
characters as they appeared in the book.

This is a well directed film, making sense of a difficult text in an
acceptable time frame. Richard Burton was an excellent choice as
Morlar, he has a dominating presence that lends well to the character.
These things along with an excellent rendition of a sensational,
compelling story make the Medusa Touch one of the best suspense films
ever.

Reviewed by jol-4 10 / 10

I have a gift for disaster.......

The Medusa Touch is a film that i could just watch over and over again. The
story, acting and directing (as well as the effects for the time) were
truly
brilliant. Richard Burton once again showed all the other Hollywood actors
what he is worth (and i bet deep down inside they knew too). The film is
basically about an odd, private man who has the evil power to inflict death
just by looking at them. The build up to the film is superb as is the
actual
way the French investigator (Leo Ventura) goes about investigating Morlar's
(Burton) death. The film was filmed entirely in England and has that very
British feel to it but watching Burton in that film makes me feel sad that
he is not alive today because only Anthony Hopkins can be compared to this
true gem of an actor.

Reviewed by creativeguy0123 5 / 10

UNDERRATED SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

Hmm. Some of the reviewers here have complained about the film's slow pacing. Well, yes...compared to the MTV style edited movies of the past 5 years, I'd have to agree. But, the pacing is also necessary in order to show the slow psychological breakdown of the lead character. It's a slow burn type of story, and the filmmakers were much more concerned with building a creepy atmosphere than bombarding us with CGI effects, blood and gore, and whatever else passes for supernatural horror these days.

Besides, Richard Burton on a bad day is better than most actors at their best.

If "Jason X" and other hollow, special effects driven films are your idea of horror...then this isn't the film for you. The Medusa Touch is a methodically paced thriller, aimed at genre fans who enjoy a more thoughtful kind of horror film. If you enjoyed "Don't Look Now," then this is the type of film for you.

If you have the rare opportunity to catch this obscure film, you should at least give it a fair shake. Then you can decide for yourself.